Dive Brief:

• ISpot.tv, a media measurement company, has entered into a multi-year partnership with Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media, per a press release. With the partnership, iSpot will become the preferred video and TV measurement partner for the media agency’s clients.  
• Camelot’s clients will have access to iSpot’s TV ad measurement products, including unified cross-platform and verified streaming capabilities. The firm’s tools use on-screen ad verification, de-duplication of audiences and co-viewing metrics for a swath of streaming publishers and platforms.
• The deal expands iSpot’s model into the agency realm and arrives as streaming measurement remains murky. Historically, the company has focused on a brand-direct business that covers over 600 brands, including 85% of the top 50 television advertisers. 

Dive Insight: 

ISpot is growing the agency side of its businesses in a bid to help the industry adapt to the complexities of an ever-changing digital landscape that has, in recent years, put a larger focus on streaming. Specifically, advertisers and agencies have been looking for ways to streamline data and optimize campaigns as they grapple with keeping track of numerous media channels and varying goals within those channels.

In addition to offering Camelot’s brand partners the ability to utilize iSpot’s ad measurement products, the partnership also gives the agency access to the measurement company’s full-funnel measurement performance tools, including second-by-second attention measurement, real-time competitive intelligence, business outcomes and conversion tracking. Camelot gains more control over the data coming in so it can be more prescriptive for its clients that do not have the media heft to create their own individual deals with demand-side platforms. 

“At Camelot, empowering our brand customers to access and evaluate every moment of every ad, from the creative development process through business outcomes, will give us the radical transparency we need in order to help them achieve their unique business goals,” said Camelot CEO Sam Bloom in a statement. 

Media measurement has become murkier with the rise of streaming, as many marketers believe traditional ratings do not adequately track metrics geared toward the digital marketplace, including attention and attribution. ISpot rivals are also investing in ways to account for these complexities. Nielsen, recently embroiled in a ratings controversy, earlier this year launched its long-awaited cross-platform measurement product, One Ads.

At the same time, the recently formed Joint Industry Committee, which is focused on enabling multiple currencies and streaming measurement solutions, has touted its progress, which includes signing with major media agencies like Dentsu, GroupM, Horizon Media and IPG Mediabrands.